Settlement:
Town/Village:
The village of Rozhen offers an amazing view to the peaks of the Pirin and Belasitsa mountains. The village of Rozhen is situated in Bulgaria, district of Blagoevgrad, Municipality of Sandanski up in the South-eastern lower part of the Pirin mountain. Pirin Mountain is the country's second highest mountain, highest peak Vihren (2,914 in), 176 mountain lakes and about 100 varieties of rare plants, including the edelweiss and the famous Baikousheva fir, almost 1,300 years old. Rozhen is near to the well-known climatic and spa resort of Sandanski (25 km.), near the famous Bulgarian ski center Bansko (110 km.) and the biggest Bulgarian national park “Pirin”. Rozhen is closed to the border of Greece (34 km.) and is within two hours car-trip to Thesalloniki (157 km.) and the nearest see resorts.
On the area of 17 sq. km millennia-long erosion has chiseled this unusual world. The climate in the region of Rozhen is moderate continental and transitional Mediterranean, which influences the annual distribution of the rainfalls and the temperature rate. The average annual temperature in the area is 13.4 degrees Centigrade. The duration of sunshine in the region is the longest for the country – 2506 hours per year. The region enjoys hot and sunny summer, warm autumn, mild winter and considerably early spring. The climate of Rozhen is favorable for medical treatment of chronic pulmonary, kidney and rheumatic disorders.
Rozhen offers unique possibility to combine living in wonderful mountain surroundings with recreation at the sea side.
Rozhen Monastery (Orthodox Name - St Nativity of Virgin Mary) is one of the few Bulgarian monasteries of the Middle Ages, which has survived relatively intact up to present days. According to annals kept in Atone, Greece, the monastery dates back at least to 890 AC . The church of the monastery, named St Birth of Virgin Mary, later gave its name to the nearby village of Rozhen (Rozhen coming from the root of the Bulgarian word for birth, ‘Rozhdenie’). Nowadays, the monastery is well maintained and open to visitors all around the year.
Melnik, which is about 9 km away, is the smallest and one of the most fascinating towns-museums in Bulgaria. Melnik is a blend of unique nature - the cliffs clustered around the houses on the hills, history, culture and wine. Melnik is not only history and architecture – it is wine too. Original cellars are excavated in the sand pyramids, which surround the town on all sides, and there the famous Melnik wine ripens, matures and is preserved. Nowadays it has about 230 inhabitants but has a great development of tourism. The ruins of the old-time splendor are sufficient to submerge one into the atmosphere of long past centuries. Melnik is situated among the whimsical sand pyramids – some of the most fascinating natural phenomena on the Balkans.
